POLICE RAID ARTIST'S HOUSE FOR BACON MASK

Richard Morrison, of Wavertree, Liverpool, returned home the other day to find his door had been kicked in by police with a search warrant. They had been acting on a tip-off from a criminal who had broken into the artist's home just days earlier. He told officer he had seen a human head in Mr Morrison's house. The “head” was none other than a mask made from rashers of bacon, stored in formaldehyde. Chief Inspector Stephen Naylor apologised to Morrison, promising that the police force would pay for a new front door.

Morrison said the work was inspired by the artist Damien Hirst’s notorious shark in formaldehyde. He added: "It's obviously a very macabre piece of work, but I never expected it to get this reaction. The police told me that the burglar was terrified - he had a crisis of conscience and confessed his crimes to his mother. I made the mask when I was on an art foundation course two years ago. It just seemed like an interesting concept. I was quite proud of the result, although it's sagging a bit now”. According to the BBC the criminal was arrested by police for a different crime.

Says the IPKat, “One of the problems with conceptual art is that the art lies in the concept as much as in its formal execution. Take the concept and you’ve taken the essence of the art ― but it’s not an infringement of copyright”.

For art by Damien Hirst click here
Properties of formaldehyde here
For pictures of bacon click here and here
For pictures by Bacon click here and here
For cheese toast with bacon, like grandma’s grandma used to make click here